Rep. Pascrell defends Israeli war efforts

Skeptical before he arrived in Israel for a weeklong trip, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. said on Thursday that he is more convinced now that the Israeli military did what it could to limit civilian casualties during the recent fighting in Gaza.

A veteran congressman whose North Jersey district includes both Jewish and Arab voters, the Paterson Democrat said in a telephone interview that he sees himself as a "bridge builder" and hoped to get answers about the Israeli strike on a United Nations school in Gaza that killed many children.

He said he became more inclined to believe Israel was justified after meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, touring a hospital where injured combatants from Syria are being treated, and receiving other information he said he could not disclose.

"Right now I'm not 100 percent convinced, but when I see the humanitarian aspects of what Israel is doing in other parts of Israel … I'm convinced more now than then that the Israeli government would try to take all precautions going into a war situation. But everybody knows war is war," he said.

The trip with eight other members of Congress was funded by a pro-Israel charity and included meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Salam Fayyad, a former prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority.

Asked about statements by some Israel supporters, including Sen. Cory Booker, that Hamas was intentionally trying to increase civilian casualties to attract international sympathy, Pascrell said: "When you look at the evidence that Hamas used schools, Hamas used mosques, to fight the Israelis, they are increasing the risk of civilian deaths. That's the evidence. You cannot dismiss that evidence."

He said he remains hopeful that a two-state peace can be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians, but at the same time he was concerned that fighting could resume today when a three-day cease-fire ends.

He said Hamas made demands during negotiations in Egypt that were "impossible to deliver at this time.

"Hamas has a choice. Do you join Palestinian government and hope the Palestinian government and the Israelis can work out a peaceful solution for more than a few days or a few months?" he said.

"Israel is a very compassionate and human society. I believe the Palestinians are as well. Hamas is not. Hamas is a one-way street. Hamas is a one-way ticket to murder," he said.

Pascrell is one of six House Democrats with three Republicans on the weeklong trip arranged by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable arm of the advocacy group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.